EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm stocks firm after US data rally

* LatAm stocks firm on U.S. data rally; risk appetite

* Mexico's assets softer in tandem with U.S. markets

* Oil rises ahead of U.S. summer-driving season

By Manuela Badawy

NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - Latin American equity markets
were holding to earlier gains on Thursday despite mixed U.S.
economic data that put pressure in its stock markets later in
the day.

U.S. economic data was mixed, with weekly jobless claims
and durable goods orders signaling a stabilizing economy while
new home sales data indicated ongoing weakness in the housing
market.

Morgan Stanley Capital International's Latin American stock
index .MILA00000PUS gained 1.36 percent to 2,988.55 after
rising above 3,000 the previous day just shy of an 8-months
high.

"Preoccupations remain, especially on the external and
fiscal sectors in the United States. Nevertheless the durables
goods number released today is positive for equities
everywhere," said Alvaro Bandeira, head of equities at Rio de
Janeiro-based Agora Corretora.

Brazil's Bovespa index .BVSP gained 1.77 percent led by
commodity producers and increased risk appetite from investors
in emerging markets. Its real currency, (BRBY: Quote, Profile, Research) was appreciating
0.10 percent to 2.014 per dollar.

Mexico's stock market on the other hand continued to follow
the U.S. equity market zig-zagging after the mixed U.S. data.
The IPC index .MXX was up 0.14 percent my early afternoon.

Mexico's economy is tightly linked to that of the United
States, so any recovery from the current recession in Mexico
will depend on improvements in the U.S. economy.

Mexico's peso MXN= was weakening 0.43 percent to 13.27
per dollar.

Meanwhile, oil jumped more than 2 percent above $65 a
barrel after OPEC decided to keep output unchanged and
government data showed a steep drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Latin American oil producers Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador,
Colombia are set to gain from the price surge.

Analysts said while the data showed gasoline demand still
trailing year-ago levels, it was looking stronger during the
seven days leading into the May 23-25 Memorial Day holiday
weekend, which traditionally kicks off summer holiday travel.

"What we are seeing here is the demand side start to
improve," said analyst Phil Flynn at Alaron Trading in Chicago.

"Gasoline demand over the Memorial Day weekend is a
critical point in judging the health of the U.S. economy. I
don't think the increased demand over the holiday was a fluke."

Commodity prices are gaining strength, as the
Reuters-Jefferies CRB .CRB commodity index (a benchmark
basket of 19 futures), showed a rise to 249.54 from 202.47
touched late February. The commodity index touched a record
high above 473 on July 3, 2008.

Emerging market sovereign debt spreads, the premium that
investors demand for holding riskier bonds than U.S.
Treasuries, widened 5 basis points to 444 basis points above
comparable U.S. Treasuries, according to JP Morgan's Emerging
Markets Bond Index Plus (EMBI+) 11EMJ.JPMEMBIPLUS.

Investors in emerging sovereign debt have gained almost 11
percent so far this year, according to JP Morgan, yet most of
the returns are from European global bonds.

Brazil's global bond due 2040 BRAGLB40=RR, considered the
emerging market benchmark paper, was slightly up to bid 130.000
in price and to yield 5.268 percent.

(Additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Brazil
and Timothy Gardner in New York; Editing by Diane Craft)